Free Trade Zone receives N1.8trn China boost

China plans to inject up to $5bn (N1.8tr) into the development of the newly established Polaris-Pacesetter Free Trade Zone, located along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, at the first instance.

This is as United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) partnered the Oyo State Government to develop an industrial policy and strategic document poised to give the state’s industrialization initiatives a major boost.

Abiola Ajimobi, executive governor of Oyo State, disclosed that close to150 investors from Asian countries, especially China, had signified their preparedness to invest in the state’s FTZ, with assurances that seven of the companies would begin business by the end of the year.

Ajimobi said that the state had comparative advantage for massive industrial development, judging by its vast arable land mass, huge population, concentration of research institutes, as well as its peaceful and secure environment.

“We are proud and happy to have been recognized as worthy of being the first state to benefit from this industrial development policy in Nigeria. Without sounding immodest, this is in acknowledgment of our commitment to industrialization,” Ajimobi said, adding that Oyo State is ranked 5th in ease of doing business in Nigeria because of the enabling environment it has created.

“We have made peace and security the cornerstone of our pyramid of development. Similarly, we have provided social and physical infrastructure. These are the sine qua non of industrial development. We are happy to announce that China alone is investing $5bn dollars in our free trade zone.”

The document of the partnership with UNIDO was presented to Ajimobi by Jean Bankole, UNIDO’s representative to ECOWAS and regional director of Nigeria regional office hub at the Governor’s office, Ibadan.

Bakole said, “Our main job is to support economic growth and transformation in Africa. We are here to see how we can build a roadmap to develop various sectors. Oyo State is the first to benefit from the partnership because it already has an industrial policy in place.

“UNIDO is now developing a new country programme. The document we are presenting today was prepared in collaboration with the state government. This document raises a number of challenges, which is not peculiar to Oyo State.

“Our business is now to turn these challenges to opportunities. Few of the challenges include poor power supply, dominance of informal sector, low level technology, lack of interagency synergy.”

The Commissioner for Trade, Investment and Cooperatives,  Taibat Adeyemi-Agaba, also said that UNIDO developed new industrial policy with active collaboration of the state.

According to her, the policy had the input of internal and external stakeholders, which she said would make it the best in the Southwest region when its implementation began.

 

Akinremi Feyisipo, Ibadan